I hear it’s a common complaint–

the alarm clock.

It is jarring, grating, aggressively braying,
the digital jackass sitting on my side table.
Wearily each night I plug in my time,
a begrudging tap-tap-tap to 4:30 every day
and squint through tired eyes as it tells me
just how long I have– down to the minute
before it will scream me into tomorrow.

The alarm clock is always painful,
a daily grievance,
as it pries us from the comforting embrace
of our most favorite blankets.